The Business and Human Rights Resource Center has set up a COVID-19 Action tracker to track responses and non-responses of governments and brands and the demands made by unions and civil society organizations.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads across the globe, the actions taken by fashion brands to protect their profits have had profound impacts on garment workers. Brands are using their disproportionate power over factory suppliers to cancel agreed orders, pay suppliers substantially less than agreed, or to grossly extend payment terms.

These decisions have a devastating impact on the 40 – 60 million garment workers in global fashion supply chains. Millions of workers have lost their jobs, have had months of unpaid wages, or have been forced to work for a fraction of their usual wage – an amount that has never been enough to cover a basic standard of living in the first place.

Labour rights advocates are appealing to buyers to pay for orders and support workers with wages and benefits they are owed. While many brands have acted responsibly and committed to paying for orders in full, the details of these commitments have been held in private and are still changing. We are tracking commitments made by 35 global fashion brands, the emerging demands from the labour movement, and recommendations on how to build back better.”